Yesterday Jon shared some awesome testimonies of Elijah’s faith, and as we move into chapter 18, his faith continues to grow.
Ahab, the king, and his wife Jezebel, have quit following God and have taken up idol worship in the form of Baal. There is a drought and famine in the land and God continues to protect and use Elijah amidst the chaos.
Read through this chapter a few times and see if you can get a picture of this entire situation: 1 Kings 18. There are so many messages that stand out, from God telling Elijah he would send the rain…to Obadiah’s brave message delivery in the face of his own fear… to the showdown on Mount Carmel. The events that take place are so victorious and faith affirming!
One scripture that caught my attention was Elijah’s question in verse 21:
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”
Limping. What a perfect description of my life as a sinner, hobbling from one poor choice to another, despite having moments of faith or even knowing the truth. But we hobble around and end up miserable in our own junk. This was my life in a big way before I made a commitment to follow Jesus. My limping back and forth wasn’t out of disbelief in God…but because I couldn’t figure out grace, and didn’t have the Holy Spirit living in me. I was bouncing around like a pinball game! And guess what? Even as a Christ follower, there is still junk! And while my limping and hobbling isn’t between God and Baal, it is between the spirit and the flesh. I love how Jesus warns us that our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak. Amen! My flesh is weak when I want to give a snarky remark to someone. My flesh is weak when I go into a defense mode. My flesh is weak when I break the law because I lie to myself that it doesn’t apply to me, or that law is for other people. My flesh is weak when I stay up worrying all night about things that are far beyond my control.
Are you limping today? How long will you go back and forth? I’m praying for healing from my limping, will you join me?
Matthew 6:24 tells us that No man can serve two masters. Not God and Baal. Not God and Greed. Not God and Fear. Not God and ______. Whatever is in your blank, let’s answer Elijah’s question together today and end the limping back and forth. Victory is ours!
